


Merry Grinchmas

by edoguwuranpo



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bepo is Max, Canonical character deaths mentioned, Christmas, Gen, Grinch References, Hurt/Comfort, Law is the Grinch, Luffy is Luffy Lou, M/M, Past Character Death, Tender Feels, can be read as romantic or platonic relationship, it's all about the healing y'all, the angst / referenced deaths are mentioned described vaguely
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:55:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28335000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edoguwuranpo/pseuds/edoguwuranpo
Summary: Luffy Lou is the beloved chimney sweep of the little winter town of Sunny Go. While year round the young man brings smiles to the faces of friends, strangers, and even enemies alike, the cheer he brought during the holiday season was unmatched. Needless to say, Luffy Lou’s favorite time of the year was the holidays. Trafalgar Law absolutely loathed the holidays with every inch of his being and this year he was going to do something about it.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Trafalgar D. Water Law, Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Merry Grinchmas

**Author's Note:**

> A silly little thing I spun up from swearing to use the first job that popped up on a random job generator, which happened to be a chimney sweep lol It’s loosely based on the Grinch, but def not a 1:1 (so Law and Luffy are both adults in a similar age range and no one is green LOL) it’s my first One Piece fic so it’s probably a little OOC but yeah that’s just how it is sometimes lmao,, I couldn’t keep it angst free so there’s some canon related angst tied in there as well. I'm writing this on xmas eve + xmas day, no beta babeyyy, so let’s get grunch

The little winter town of Sunny Go was tucked away in the heart of the Grand Line Range, the town getting its namesake from the warm glow of the sunrise that shone past the lower part of the mountain chain and illuminated the town in its light. And like its namesake, the villagers of Sunny Go were known to be warm and welcoming to match. So to no one’s surprise, the winter season was always anticipated since in the town of Sunny Go, holidays brought extra ways to celebrate their love and joy for each other. And for it was this reason (and for the many holiday feasts) that the holidays were Luffy Lou’s favorite time of the year.

The week of Christmas was as exciting as it was busy for Luffy Lou. The bright young man was the beloved chimney sweep of Sunny Go and as of this year, he was the only chimney sweep in the town. With Christmas quickly approaching and the villagers needing to have their chimneys cleaned in preparation for Santa to deliver presents, Luffy Lou was booked. 

He spent countless hours brushing out chimneys. Luffy’s strong and nimble body lent itself perfectly to the task, making Luffy very good at what he did. But as it would anyone else, everyday he can home exhausted and would eat whatever dinner his friend Sanji prepared and dropped off earlier, practically scarfing down the food in his sleep.

This is how Luffy’s whole week played out until he’d finished all his appointments and how he found himself on the night before Christmas tucked snuggly in his cocoon of blankets, snoozing away. Though he slept alone in the silent home this night (minus his own snoring), tomorrow would soon approach, bringing all loud and merry cheer of his friends (and of course, a delicious feast courtesy of Sanji).

And with the excitement of celebration so near, it was exactly what Luffy dreamed about.

The piles of meat cooked to perfection (Luffy drooled, chewing on his pillow)... the music and joyous laughter… the presents under the tree being set by a bulky cyborg Santa in a red and white striped speedo…

Dream-Luffy was having a delightful time until he noticed something odd about the Santa before him. The large cyborg’s coat wasn’t a brilliant red, no, it was marked with inky black, and as Luffy began to notice this, the number and size of the stains seemed to grow and spread. The spots tracked from Santa in growing dusty spots leading to his chimney.

Luffy paused. 

‘Wait, no. How could that be? He was a chimney sweep himself. There was no way that he’d forget to clean his own before the most important day of the year...right?’

The dream Santa shrugged. Oh no.

Within seconds Luffy’s eyelids snapped open and he bolted from his cozy nest down the hall to the fireplace. And lo and behold, the chimney was indeed dirty. Hell it wasn’t just dirty, it was absolutely filthy and by the look of things, Luffy didn’t think he cleaned it since Christmas last year.

He looked at the clock hanging from the wall nearby; it was already well into the evening. But no matter! He’d simply just clean the chimney before Santa came!

With a few stretches, the man grabbed a large fuzzy brush and quickly got to work. Missed in his initial sleepy daze, the young man failed to notice the plies of presents that lay tucked underneath the tree, some dusted with small bits of soot.

\----

Trafalgar Law absolutely loathed the holidays with every inch of his being.

Considering this, maybe moving to Sunny Go a few years ago wasn’t the best idea but it was definitely better than the city he lived in previously and his childhood town of Flevance. These places remind him of the ghosts of his past that haunted him through the day and seeped into his dreams at night. So when his only friends offered Law the opportunity to move to Sunny Go with them, there was no question about it. 

The first year living with Penguin and Shachi was actually pretty good. Law was soon able to establish himself as a doctor in the small town, gaining prestige as the “Surgeon of Death” for curing patients that were thought to be at death’s door. While grateful to the pair, once the holiday season came to their home in the heart of Sunny Go… Needless to say, in the new year Law found his own cabin nestled in the bordering woods, far from the festive hustle and bustle of Sunny Go.

News (well, gossip really) spread fast in the small town about the surgeon’s dislike for the holidays so once it came time for Christmas, everyone knew not to bother the surgeon (unless his services were absolutely necessary, of course). How anyone would believe something like ‘lack of christmas spirit’ could be contagious was beyond Law. But, whatever, it worked in Law’s favor so the young man paid it no mind.

It was now the late afternoon of Christmas Eve. This particular year the festivities of the town were louder than ever, so much that the horns and bells rang throughout the forest all the way to Law’s cabin. The surgeon tried to block out the noise as best he could: stuffing cotton in his ears, nestling his head closer in his pet polar bear’s coat… all futile to blocking out the villagers' cheers.

“Bepo, I swear they get louder and louder each year. It’s like they’ve never had a bad Christmas in their lives,” Law scoffed, scratching the small polar bear right behind the ears. Bepo nudged the surgeon’s other hand with his fluffy paw, wanting double the scratches. Law chuckled and began giving pets with his other hand as well.

“If they’d known some tragedy on Christmas, maybe their annoying cheers would quiet down… Nothing serious, I would never wish that upon anyone… No, just something to cause a bit of disappointment…” 

And that’s when Trafalgar Law had the wonderfully horrid idea to get rid of all the presents.

The villagers of Sunny Go would surely bounce back, but the initial shock of everyone’s presents getting stolen would dampen the mood and give Law some peace and quiet if only for a few moments. 

He contemplated destroying the toy factory, but with only him and his polar bear companion, it would be a difficult feat. Somehow disguising himself as Santa and removing all the presents after they’ve been delivered for the night seemed like a more reasonable task.

And thus, with some adjustments to his sled, an outfit of red and white his friends had gifted him year prior as a stupid joke, and a horn tied precariously to Bepo’s head, the surgeon was off to hopefully ruin Christmas.

\----

Surprisingly to Law, retrieving all the presents of the small town of Sunny Go was easier than anticipated. In no time at all, the Surgeon of Death had visited near every home in the village with relative ease. Not even a speck of dust was left sullying his red suit.

From the map he had, there was only one house left to visit that sat just on the edge of the city limits, bordering the forest’s edge. With this, his plan would be seen to completion and a quiet Christmas would welcome him the next morning.

With little pause, Law jumped into the last chimney; but unlike the rest that had been completely spotless, the surgeon was welcomed with a lung full of soot. His grip started to loosen as he was sent into a coughing fit, eyes watering like mad as plumes of soot erupted in front of him. Just as the dust seemed to lift, something hard suddenly dug into his calf, dislodging the surgeon from the chimney, causing Law to fall with a loud thud onto a pile of blackened wood chips below.

Law groaned, rubbing the side that had fallen directly onto the charred logs. It took a moment for the man to take in the situation he’d literally fallen into.

Before the surgeon stood a shorter raven-haired man, a large dusting brush in hand. The other dawned a red onesie with a matching sleeping cap. He was completely covered in soot, the ashes smearing his round cheeks, nose, and beneath the crescent scar below his left eye in inky blotches. Law instantly recognized the other as Luffy Lou, the chimney sweep everyone in Sunny Go was more than familiar with for one reason or another.

Both locked eyes with one another. They blinked.

The young man before Law went first.

“You’re wearing pants and you definitely don’t look like a cyborg… You aren’t Santa, are you?”

The silence stretched between the two and possible options flicked through his mind:  
Maybe he could still try to convince the other he was indeed Santa-- no, that wouldn’t work. Luffy already clocked him within seconds of their encounter. Plus, Law was more the type that needed things to be planned beforehand, so coming up with a convincing lie on the fly was out of the question.  
He could just leave this house; he’d already visited all other homes in town so the effect of his plan would be the same. But leaving an eye witness to his plan? That would ruin the reputation of his clinic-- well, he could kill the other man-- No, no, as much as he disliked Christmas, he wasn’t about to kill an innocent man in his own home.

Said innocent man was the first to break whatever tension had been building.

“You’re the Surgeon of Death, right? Umm, I think Robin told me your name before, uhh, Tra-tro- Torao??” The other cutely cocked his head to the side, eyebrow raised as he mumbled his thoughts to himself.

Law observed the other; his aloof demeanor, the way he puffed out his cheeks in a pout… No, there was something else entirely hidden behind those round, brown eyes… Something that had Law saying something that was a surprise even to his own ears.

“I used to love the holidays, Luffy-ya… With my family... and when they were gone, with Cora-san…”

The other fell silent, the large brush hung loosely at his side instead of pointing at Law. Those warm brown eyes did not waver an inch as he held Law’s gaze, waiting patiently for the surgeon to continue.

Law actually didn’t hate the festivities, even with how annoying and loud as they could be. The thought of spending Christmas surrounded by joy and laughter seemed good to the doctor. But the holidays reminded him of family. The ones he lost all those years ago. The memories of fire, of pure white snow staining velvet, of his screams that sounded muted to his own ears... So much blood was spilled, and for what? A sick boy that was long past his expiration date. Yes, he would live everyday so the sacrifices made for him weren’t in vain, but past that? Celebrating during this time felt ungrateful.

At some point the other man sat in front of Law who never left his place in the hearth. Luffy sat with the large brush now resting atop crossed legs. The raven-haired man barely concealed his reactions as Law spoke: eyes softening, eyebrows scrunched together, moments eyes fell downcast to the brush held firm in his lap... Law could see that Luffy listened to every word he spoke with care.

So he shared and shared: about his family and the massive fires that engulfed Flevance, about wandering the Grand Line Range when he was just a mere boy...about Doflamingo, about Cora-san… And finally about his plan to take all the presents in Sunny Go. Truths that were never said in full to anyone but Bepo. He didn’t know why, but here he was, bearing the scars of his heart to a total stranger… and oddly enough, Law didn’t mind it. If anything a small sense of relief washed over the surgeon.

Soon enough Law’s story came to a close and the silence hung in the space between them until the other spoke up.

“Do you want to spend Christmas with me?”

Law frowned, fighting his instinct to roll his eyes at the question. He literally just finished explaining to the other why he disliked the holiday and why he was currently trying to ruin it, yet here Luffy was inviting Law to spend it with him.

“There used to be another chimney sweep here in Sunny Go, my brother, Ace… we were a pair, but, um last year there was an accident…” 

Law remembered hearing about it… there was some sort of explosion that happened when the brothers were working, Ace shielding the younger from the blast… It was suspected that they were sabotaged but it was never revealed who, though Law had his suspicions.

Luffy spoke fondly of his brother and how he understood some of what Law felt… The weight of being the one left behind… 

“I’ll never forget Ace,” Law followed Luffy’s eyes to the other side of the room where a plate of food sat in front of a picture frame. “But knowing Ace, he didn’t just want me to survive; he wanted me to live. I don’t know your family or Cora-san to speak for them, and I don’t know if I really know how to help, but maybe we can find a way to live together? Only if you want.” Luffy smiled.

Law pushed away his urge to point out the suggestive nature of asking someone to live together. The surgeon thought back on his family, on Cora-san… they would want his happiness and for Law to live as he pleased. The one holding him back was himself and while the guilt of being left behind haunted him, maybe he didn’t have to face these thoughts alone. It was surprisingly easy to open up to the other and Luffy seemed to trust Law enough to confide in him as well… 

“--Well I hope you say yes because I don’t think I could let you leave knowing you have everyone’s presents. I’m pretty strong, you know!” Luffy pointed his large brush at the surgeon to emphasize his point.

Law chuckled, finally standing from the fireplace and patting off some of the ashes. He glanced at the clock stuck on the wall nearby. There should still be enough time...

“Thanks, Luffy-ya, but I’ll have to decline your offer--” Luffy’s eyebrows scrunched together and before he could interject, Law continued.

“--It’ll probably take me the remainder of the night to return all the presents I’ve collected so--”

Law swears he could see literal stars forming in the other’s eyes.

“I can help! 2 are better than 1 and no one else in Sunny Go knows the chimneys around here better than I do!” Luffy stood, hands propped on his hips.

The surgeon couldn’t help the slight smile that tugged at his lips.

“Luffy-ya, you are aware of the fact I am someone who literally just broke into your house not even an hour ago to steal from you, right?”

The chimney sweep laughed loud and clear, a huge grin plastered on his face causing his eyes to crinkle at the corners.

“Minor details. I don’t think you’re a bad person, Torao, so it’s fine! You wouldn’t betray me and keep the presents or anything, would you?”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

Luffy tossed his large brush to the side and slipped a hand into Law’s.

“Then, come on! Let’s get going!”

\----

It took the pair and Bepo the rest of the night to return all of the presents Law had collected previously, and by the time they made it back to Luffy’s house, they all instantly passed out right on the living room floor. 

When Nami arrived at the chimney sweep’s home that Christmas morning to start party preparations, the two men still laid curled into each other beside the Christmas tree in the living room. Their clothes were covered in soot, some of the ash rubbing off on the polar bear that their heads propped against.

If it was anyone else, Nami might have been concerned. Why was the Surgeon of Death cuddling Luffy in his sleep? Why was the pair so filthy? And not to forget, there was a random polar bear with an antler tied to its head sleeping blissfully with the two as well.

But this was Luffy, so Nami just shrugged. Luffy could share what had happened that night with the rest of their friends later. 

Nami chuckled to herself thinking of the multiple different bets she could swindle-- er-- play with her friends about the situation. After taking a quick snapshot of the scene, the red head was out the door, leaving the house in silence, sans Luffy’s snores, once more.

\----

The second they woke up, Luffy started plowing through the presents that lay under the tree for him. It was to Law’s surprise, some were addressed to him as well. On one small gift the surgeon spied a note carefully tucked under its black and yellow ribbon: _‘Superrr thanks for returning the presents! - S.C.’_

He really wasn’t the one to thank, the doctor thought. Law glanced over to Luffy, the other man’s eyes shining after unwrapping a gigantic stick of salami. Law failed to suppress the laugh that bubbled in the back of his throat.

He wondered if it was really alright for him to be celebrating with someone, to be feeling as light as he did right now on this holiday. Law still wasn’t sure. It was something he’d have to find out, and this time, not alone. 

It was just last night he sought to steal Christmas from everyone else, but instead what he stole back was a chance. A chance he thought he’d lost all those years ago.

A chance to be happy again.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all liked it if ya gave it a go! this idea has been on my mind for over a month and I'm finally glad to get back into writing again :D I'm on twt with the same @, though its mostly just me rt-ing OP + HQ fanarts ngl lmao


End file.
